Taste: Tastes more like a hoppy saison, akin to what Johannson's Dining in Westminster offers, than an American IPA. Hoppy, but so much spicing and "farmhouse" ingredients brings it more into saison tradition. This beer claims IPA, and it surely is by technique, but you are getting into a hoppy saison.

Mouthfeel: Honestly, boring. It's there. It's solid. Spices stay in the mouth, hops leave. It is average, so it gets the marked average score.

Paid about $1.80 for the bottle; I love this beer for the price point and for loving Flying Dog, but I wish the head wasn't so extreme and the appearance had more power. The taste is perfect, and is great proof of a reclassification of "imperial" saisons or something along those lines.

A hazed golden shade with full thick head that settles to a thin cap with no lace but has a tight bead. The smell has lots of noble hops which augment the slight belgian phenolic yeast odor with mild nutty malt and spice, the hops add a slight lemon rind to the nose. The feel is good with moderate full body and somewhat high bitterness with mild yeast creaminess and slight spiced and mildly astringent accent w/ a light alcohol impact overall.

The taste comes off as strong piney flavor at first with subtle belgian yeast which gives a light spice and it is slightly obscured by the hops which have some mild citrus tinges and the yeast adds a light funkiness to the middle which could almost be mistaken for brett with light barnyard character. The flavor recedes into a bitter and dry finish which is actually refreshing given the carbonation. Overall I like this in comparison to some other American Belgian style IPA's. It is very tasty with emphasis on hops and nice yeast augmentation.

64 oz growler into a tulip glass. Big thanks go to Stakem for filling this up for me off of a home keg.

Pours a hazed coppery gold, with 2 fingers of frothy bright-white head. This retains with a strong looking ½ finger of smooth foam, which kicks up a robust cascade of sticky spotty lacing. The aroma smells grassy and herbal with some fresh citrus character, while softer tropical fruit notes and doughy grains round out the edges. The nose is punctuated by a pronounced spiciness and ripe fruity esters, which really pick up strength as this warms.

The taste starts with crisp citrus, which has a flavorful snap across the tongue and is softened up from underneath by a mix of gentle ripe fruit, sweet bready grains, and herbal textures. There is a bold spiciness here from the yeast throughout, which really pulls hard into the finish, where is lingers with some leftover dry pith from the hops. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and is equal parts crispness and silky smooth with a good bit of an oily feel being present. Alcohol aids in bringing out the bitterness and spice here but it overall isn’t too distracting.

This was certainly an interesting take on a Belgian IPA, with that crisp juiciness of the hops and easy feeling body wanting this to go down quickly yet that bold spiciness from the yeast makes you hold back some. I guess in the end, I could have used a bit less spice here but I didn’t let it ruin my experience with this beer, as it’s worth checking out. This is a different beast than the Raging Bitch and I liked it.

A: dark cloudy yellow; 2-finger creamy head; mostly clearS: smells strongly of yeast, belgian bottle conditioningT: radically astringent Belgian; very hoppy and resinous. They have basically hopped the hell out of a dubbel and sent it to pine heaven; this will not be to the tastes of many, but I like it.

On tap in my garage, poured into a thistle. Even with the co2 turned off, this brew displays ferocious carbonation. A hazed golden colored brew sits under a full fist of yellowish stained frothy head that recedes painfully slow. As it recedes, it completely paints the walls of the glass with a webbing pattern of lacing effect. Rising bubbles of carbonation assist the cap in it's slow dispersal.

The smell of this brew is vibrant with a yeasty scent of clove. Fruits like pear and apple are quite evident under the spices. Some herbal hops come forth with a nearly vegetative tinge that accents more of the fruity to floral components of the nose. Overall, I would say this brew smells more of a saison than anything with that bold clove spice.

The taste displays a perplexing mixture of saison spice like clove, a little bit of fruity esters like pear and apple skins that has a solid dryness about it. Then the bitterness of the IPA side of things comes forward with lots of herbal aspects, more notes of dried fruits and a big of vegetable touch. The alcohol here is not hidden at all and becomes progressively more forward with a warmth.

This is a medium to lighter bodied brew with a lively level of carbonation. That full 7.5% alcohol is felt and really exaggerated by the dryness of this brew and the herbal hops. The whole idea here of a saison/ipa hybrid was well executed. Whereas the aroma is very saison forward, it is much more balanced between the 2 in the flavor department. If the alcohol was tamed down a bit I could see myself drinking a bunch of this quite effortlessly. However, as-is with its dryness and alcohol punch I am only good for a glass or 2 at a time. This is worth a try if you havent had it yet.

From notes: This is a great refreshing IPA with a subtle flower bouquet, a high drinkability and a sweet honey suckle flavors. An interesting IPA, certainly an aberration from the norm, a positive aberration nevertheless.

Disclaimer: Tasted from 6 ounce tasting glass. The ale still poured with a 1cm head and showed thin lacing on the glass.

Sixer picked up at Rick's in Alexandria. Served in a Flying Dog goblet.

Pours a clear deep golden color with a nice two-finger head with good retention and some nice lacing on the way down.

The nose carries some nice pepper and spice plus some floral and grassy hops. A touch of citrus there as well. Particularly as it warms, the pepper and spice really dominate. The flavor has a nice hop bitterness up front, followed by nice floral and earthy notes. A touch of spice in the background. Nice and integrated.

Body is medium with just a slight chewiness and a moderate amount of bitterness to the finish. Dry and spicy. Well done. I'll have to do a side by side with this and Raging Bitch.

A: Upon pouring, a huge, pillowy head rapidly expands like foam and fills over 1/3 of the glass; and this is on a careful pour! The head is a dense, lovely creation crammed pack with creme colored bubbles sitting over a somewhat cloudy, straw-colored brew. Great retention with splotches of white bubbles trailing behind on the sides of the glass.

S: Phenolic with all familiar, spicey yeast notes and dashes of clove. Smells a lot like a great hefeweizen with a nice pop of hoppy citrus hiding in the background. Definitely powerful.

T: A little watered down from the nose, the spicey yeast notes are most readily noticeable in the initial wave of flavors to hit the tongue. Notes of clove and a bit of bubblegum hide in the background with just a subtle kiss of lemony citrus. Finishes with a moderately traceable malt backbone. As an IPA, the one trait this beer most picks up on is the bittersweet finish. The slightest bit of a rubbing alcohol flavor crops up in the finish as the beer warms

M: Medium to light bodied with adequate carbonation, crisp and drying in the finish with a hearty dose of alcoholic warmth lent by the 7.5% abv.

O: Great smelling beer with an pretty well executed mix of hefeweizen spiciness and IPA bitterness (only a touch of citrus) in the flavors. Interesting beer to try, but probably not my favorite of styles.

O - Pretty pleasing, enough complexity to entice with a take at a US Belgian/IPA/Saisonesque kind of thing. It works.

Notes: Sure enough, it reminds a bit of their recent Harvest Secret Stash offering and works in a similar fashion, slightly hoppier pointing to their Raging Bitch but without getting there. Glad to see this one, hopefully making part of some regular rotation, price/quality ration this is a nice six-pack.

Appearance: The beer is a cloudy orangish light amber color with some yellow hints. There is a two finger fluffy white head that goes away quickly leaving a small layer on top of the pour.

Smell: Smells more like a farmhouse ale than an IPA. There is a strong herbal, Belgian yeast presence with very little contribution from the hops.

Taste: Floral and herbal up front. The overall flavor is fairly light and doesn't overpower. There is a bitterness in the finish, but I don't know that I would have thought IPA if they didn't write it on the bottle.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a ton of carbonation that is aggressively tingly and then fluffy. The finish is slightly dry, but the carbonation distracts a bit.

Overall: I enjoyed the flavor of this beer, but I'm not sure about saying it is a "Farmhouse IPA". Not a very strong hop presence at all. Tastes good though.